UW professor says ‘no easy solution’ to fake news phenomenon
Apr 12, 2017, 10:42 AM
One of the biggest challenges in the Internet age is how to choose what to believe.
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University of Washington professor Kate Starbird, who we first heard from in The Seattle Times last month, has studied online rumors during crisis events for a few years. Those events include both natural disasters and man-made events, such as shootings and terrorism.
Starbird has been mapping the spread of rumors and fake news, which shows a whole network of sites and social media accounts that promote and disseminate misinformation.
The question now is: What can we do with this information?
“In terms of what to do about it, that’s a really hard question,” she said. “I don’t have the answer and I don’t know the answer.”
The most she can do at the moment is explain what’s happening, why these websites and social media accounts exist, how the ideas spread, and who or what is the source behind it all.
She says there are three main groups that are spreading rumors or fake news: People running websites solely for money; conspiracy theorists; and people purposely disseminating false information to undermine trust.
Starbird says it’s up to every individual to be able to determine what is real and what is a rumor or fake.
Listen to my entire conversation with her below.
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